To me, there is always a reason to have a little picnic, surrounded by mini servings of snacks, sweets, and some tea. We gathered with some friends at a beach near Santa Cruz, soaking in the warmth from the sand and nibbling on some berries and fresh whipped cream. We brought along miniature jars of our homemade olallieberry jam and Spumoni tea from the Russian Tea Company.

We brought along our dogs, who surprisingly had no interest in exploring. They both plopped onto the sand or blanket and snoozed. My husband took off his shoes so that Yoshi had a soft place to rest his head. It’s times like these that remind me, that this is the type of man I married.

We all hung out here until the cold started seeping in and headed back to the farm for a quiet evening by the fire pit.